The Russo-Ukrainian War[e] is an ongoing international conflict between Russia, alongside Russian-

backed separatists, and Ukraine, which began in February 2014.[f] Following Ukraine's Revolution of
Dignity, Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine and supported pro-Russian separatists fighting the
Ukrainian military in the Donbas war. The first eight years of conflict also included naval incidents,
cyberwarfare, and heightened political tensions. In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion
of Ukraine.

In early 2014, the Euromaidan protests led to the Revolution of Dignity and the ousting of Ukraine's pro-
Russian president Viktor Yanukovych. Shortly after, pro-Russian unrest erupted in eastern and southern
Ukraine. Simultaneously, unmarked Russian troops moved into Ukraine's Crimea and took over
government buildings, strategic sites and infrastructure. Russia soon annexed Crimea after a highly-
disputed referendum. In April 2014, armed pro-Russian separatists seized government buildings in
Ukraine's eastern Donbas region and proclaimed the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk
People's Republic (LPR) as independent states, starting the Donbas war. The separatists received
considerable but covert support from Russia, and Ukrainian attempts to fully retake separatist-held
areas failed. Although Russia denied involvement, Russian troops took part in the fighting. In February
2015, Russia and Ukraine signed the Minsk II agreements to end the conflict, but the agreements were
never fully implemented in the years that followed. The Donbas war settled into a violent but static
conflict between Ukraine and Russian proxies, with many brief ceasefires but no lasting peace and few
changes in territorial control.

Beginning in 2021, Russia built up a large military presence near its border with Ukraine, including within
neighbouring Belarus. Russian officials repeatedly denied plans to attack Ukraine. Russian president
Vladimir Putin criticized the enlargement of NATO and demanded that Ukraine be barred from ever
joining the military alliance. He also expressed irredentist views and questioned Ukraine's right to exist.
Russia recognized the DPR and LPR as independent states in February 2022, with Putin announcing a
"special military operation" in Ukraine and subsequently invading the region. The invasion was
internationally condemned; many countries imposed sanctions against Russia and increased existing
sanctions. Russia abandoned an attempt to take Kyiv in early April 2022 amid fierce resistance. From
August, Ukrainian forces began recapturing territories in the north-east and south as a result of counter-
offensives. In late September, Russia declared the annexation of four partially-occupied regions in
southern and eastern Ukraine, which was internationally unrecognized. The war has resulted in a
refugee crisis and tens of thousands of deaths.